Pocket clips



' Dec. 2, 1958 P. K. KONTLER POCKET CLIPS Filed June 1, 1956 INVENTOR.

PETER K. KONTLER United States Patent *ke This invention to for attachment of writing implements and the like to the selvage of a pocket, and

more particularly to a safety device for closing the gap between the open end of a clip and the removable cap of the implement when its working end is in exposed position for use.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a safety device which positively prevents attachment of a pocket clip carrying implement when its working end is exposed.

Another object of the inventionis to provide an automatic safety device of the above character which re quires no additional steps for its actuation excepting those inherently required for the operation of the implement.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the described character which requires no changes in the accustomed shape of the pocket implements.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an automatic device capable of locking a pocket clip which is actuated when the cap is placed onto, or removed off, the rear or non-working end of the implement.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide safety clips and locking means therefor particularly adapted for use in writing implements.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a reliable safety device for pocket clips requiring few additional parts or only slight modifications in the existing elements.

While the more recent, so-called pushbutton writing implements, wherein a projecting knob at the rear end of the device causes the expulsion or retraction of the working point enjoy wide acceptance by the purchasing public, a removable cap which is used as an extension for the pen barrel in writing position or as a protecting sheath for the working point when the pen is not in use continues to be a standard part of many fountain pens, pencils, as well as many other pocket implements, such as certain instruments for doctors, nurses, electricians, etc. When speaking of writing implements, for example of a fountain pen, an exposed writing end may produce ink stains if the pen is inserted into the pocket while open, especially if it be left therein for an extended period of time, as the liquid will ooze by capillary attraction until its supply is exhausted and the owner is unable to use the pen if an ink bottle is not available. 7

The present invention is based on the recognition that no actual damage is done if the user of the implement discovers immediately, i. e., during the attempted attachment of the device to the selvage of the pocket, that the working point is still exposed. To draw the users attention to the omitted transposition of the cap off the rear 7, 2,862,473 Patented Dec. 2, 1958 of the invention'will becomeappar'ent in the course of the following description of an embodiment selected for illustration in. the accompanying drawing, and the invention will be finally pointed out in the appended claims.

' In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a partial vertical section through the cap of a writing implement embodying the novel safety device in idle position; p

Fig. 2 is.a similar view of the implement with the cap placed over the rear or non-working end of the device and partly. broken away to illustrate the safety device in operative position; and

Fig. .3 is an enlarged perspective view of the locking member.

Referring'nowin detail to the illustrated embodiment,

and first to Figs. 1 and 2, there is shown a fountain pen cap 10 having an open receiving end 11 and a rear end 12 closed by a plug 13 which holds the eyelet 15 of a pocket clip 14 extending along the periphery of the cap. The

The ring 19 is fixedly held in the cap to permit sliding of the barrel ends therethrough.

When the rear end of the barrel is inserted into the cap through its open end 11, the cupped portion 21 extends through the slot 17 and closes the gap between the periphery of the cap 10 and the ball 16 at the lower end of the clip 14. The portion 21 has a substantial taper,

and over the working end, the gap between the free end of the clip and the cap is closed in that the rear end of the barrel, when in the cap, causes an element to project from inside and through the wall of the cap to span the as shown, causing the pocket selvage to slide thereover and to Warn the user that the pen is not attached, as well as that the working point of the implement is still exposed. writing point 25 is inserted into the cap 10 (see Fig. 1), the portion 21 of the leaf 20 remains in the cap and the clip 14 is ready to be attached to the selvage of the pocket.

It will be seen from the foregoing that I have provided a reliable automatic locking device for the clips of pocket implements which is actuated by the rear or non-working end of the barrel when the same is inserted into, or extracted from, the cap. The inserted rear end of the implement barrel automatically locks the clip, whereas its 7 removal causes automatic opening of the gap between the purpose of ready understanding and should not be construed in a limitative sense, the scope of the invention being defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a pocket implement, in combination, an elongated barrel having a working end and a rear end, the transverse dimensions of said barrel adjacent to the working end being smaller than the transverse dimensions adjacent to the rear end thereof; a protecting cap adapted to alternately receive the ends of said barrel, said cap having a closed end, an open end and an aperture in the proximity of the open end; a pocket clip attached to the cap in the proximity of said closed end, extending therealong and having a free extremity adjacent to said aperture; and means normally located within the cap for spanning the slot between the free extremity of said clip and said Inversely, when the writing end 24 with the cap when the rear end of said barrel is inserted in the latter, said means including a retaining member attached cap, a resilient elementattached -to the retaining member and, in its normal, unstressed condition, extending into the path of said barrel adjacent to the rear end thereof, and a member attached to the resilient 'el'ement'a'nd adjacent to said aperture, said last named member having a first extreme "position in which it extends through the a'perture in said cap and toward'the free extremity of said clip when the rear end of said barrel is received in the cap and engages withthe resilient element, and a second extreme position in which it is fully received in the cap when the Writing end of said barrel is inserted into the cap.

2. The combination according to claim 1, 'wherein said retaining member is a ring anchored in the cap, said re- 4 a. silient member is a leaf spring integral with the ring at one end and slidable in the cap with the other end thereof, and said last named member is integral with the spring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,527,583 Fleming Feb. 24, 1925 1,850,086 Segal 1 Mar. 22, 1932 2,470,421 Woody; May 17, 1949 2,580,753 Frentzel Jan. 1, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 7 19,686 Great Britain Nov. 21, 1907 of 1907 405,040 Italy July 16, 1943 286,888 Switzerland Mar. 2, 1953 France Oct. 26, 1955 

